Terrell Owens returned to Candlestick Park today to celebrate “The Catch II,” his 25-yard game winner against the Green Bay Packers in a wild-card game played Jan. 3, 1999.

The play he prefers to call “The Redemption Catch” was voted by fans as the No. 4 moment in the history of Candlestick Park.

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Before serving as honorary captain, Owens spoke with several members of the media and reminisced about his days in San Francisco.

Here’s a transcript:

(Welcome home … does this feel like home?)

Oh, you know, it’s a long way from home. This is one of my stops in my career. This is where it started.

(What do you think about when you think about The Catch II?)

Well, I mean, it was a rough day. I remember dropped balls here and there. It was just one of those days you go through as a receiver, trying to collect your thoughts. You’re just trying to do whatever you can to redeem yourself for those mistakes.

I remember coming to the sidelines and everybody telling me, ‘Keep your head up. You’re going to make a big play somewhere to make up for it.’ I didn’t know it was going to come with 8 seconds left to go in the game.

But again, it was a great game. Obviously, it was one of those situations where I was part of history. Obviously, being here today proves that.

(Your reaction after making The Catch II was so emotional. Where did that come from?)

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That was me being a passionate player. I knew what I had done over the course of the off-season to be that ‘other player’ along with Jerry (Rice) and J.J. (Stokes), to compliment those guys. You know, I wear my emotions on my sleeve and that’s what I did. I put a lot of work in before the season to get to that point. It was going to be a great disappointment to let them down.

I hadn’t done a whole lot up until that catch. So it was me putting a lot of pressure on myself. But again, it was one of those opportunities that Steve (Young) gave me. He had Jerry Rice on the other side. He had. J.J.

I’m in the slot, so he could pick his poison as far as who he was going to throw the ball to.

I remember the play right before that: I ran the exact same route. I was open. I think (Young) may have tried to throw to Jerry or J.J. on the outside and almost got picked off. So I came back to the huddle and said, ‘Hey, I’m going to run my route the same way.’

I didn’t know what was going on until the replay as far as Steve Young almost tripping and falling. But he put the ball right where it had to be.

(If you go into the Hall of Fame, would it be as a 49er. Is that something you think about?)

I really haven’t made my decision yet. Obviously, like I said, it’s been an ongoing question the last few years about how it would go. Again, I just haven’t made that decision yet. It’ll be a calculated, well-thought out decision when I do make that choice, if that’s the case.

(What did you and Jim Harbaugh chat about today?)

Oh, me coming in and working out for the 49ers – nah, I’m just kidding.

We were just talking about how the team is doing. I asked him how Crabtree was doing recovering from injury. I follow the 49ers here and there. They’re doing well. I’m finally glad to see them starting to get back on track. It didn’t start so well at the beginning of the season and now they’re trying to get back in the groove.

(This team has needed WRs, even going back to last year?)

Yeah, there was disappointment there. But it is what it is. I can’t really be too salty about it. Again, I thought there was an opportunity there, obviously, when Michael Crabtree went down that I might be a viable option to come in for a workout.

But nothing happened. I just kept myself in shape. I still keep myself in shape, just in case anything out of the woodwork could happen.

(It happened with Randy Moss…)

I remember when I played here in the playoffs here, we were signing guys off the street who hadn’t played football in years. I think we signed a safety who hadn’t played I don’t know how long and he gave us a little lift at the safety position.

Again, I’m always going to stay ready. You have to stay ready.

(So you’re not retired?)

No, I haven’t retired officially. My motto is: “You have to stay ready to so you don’t have to get ready.”

(What are you doing these days?)

I’m doing some acting stuff. Playing some fantasy football. So if anybody out there is listening, I have my fantasy football league going: paythefan.com.

That’s the closest I can get to playing football right now. Other than that, I’m staying in shape. I have some projects going on, some fitness stuff. Some home décor stuff. I’m staying busy. I have my kids. I have my son here; he’s 14 now.

I remember I brought him over to the facility when he was a little tyke, maybe 2 or 3. It’s good to be here and let him be around these guys and see football up close.

(How do you look back at your time with the 49ers?)

It wasn’t the way I wanted it to end. But unfortunately that’s what happened. They traded me. I didn’t want to leave. I understand that there were a lot of things that go on with a lot of the management stuff. It wasn’t me. I didn’t want to leave.

We both moved on past that and I did what I had to do after that.

(Is this your first time back at Candlestick?)

Yeah, yeah. I never even got to play (as an opponent). When I was looking forward to the free-agent market, there were times when I looked at other teams to see if they were playing the 49ers so that maybe I could get on a team that was playing the 49ers. But I never got back there. So this is my first time being back.

(Did you realize that last year, when Crabtree had a 1,000 yards, he was the first 49ers receiver to do that since you?)

Yeah, I’m social media savvy, so I tend to keep up with a lot of the stuff. So a lot of fans here, throughout the country, keep me updated about what’s going on. So that’s unbelievable feat. You’d think that there would be some receivers and that it wouldn’t take that long to do that.

But Crabtree is phenomenal receiver, so, well-deserved.

(They’re going to blow up this stadium. Was it important for you to get back one last time?)

Well, like I said: I don’t think I would have ever come here or gotten back had it not been for this moment.

God has a reason for everything. I’m very fortunate to be here and honored to be here and share today with these guys.

(Have you contemplated who would present you at the Hall of Fame?)

Yeah, I have a couple of ideas. … But for me, it was just a blessing to be able to play football. I mean, football found me. Right now, I have kids wanting to be me. Kids grow up wanting to be like Crabtree, the Randy Mosses of the world, Calvin Johnson. I never really had that dream of wanting to be a professional football player.

I had the ability. I had the body size. And I just kind of worked at it.

I loved Chattanooga. I played three years of basketball. They tried to convince me to quit basketball to concentrate on my Pro Day and all that. I just said, ‘No, if it’s in God’s will, I’ll play regardless.”

So just kept working out during the time that I played basketball and it worked out. And I couldn’t have asked for a better place to play than here with the 49ers and the best receiver of all-time with Jerry Rice.